3rd January, 2022
PRESS RELEASE :
AREGBESOLA-OYETOLA FEUD : MURIC GIVES 7 DAYS
As the rift
between the Minister of Internal Affairs, Rauf Aregbesola and the Governor of
Osun State, Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola deepens, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
has waded into the conflict. The human rights group has given the duo seven
days within which they must settle their misunderstanding if indeed they are
true Muslims who can settle any score for the sake of Allah.
This was
disclosed in a statement issued by the group’s director and founder, Professor
Ishaq Akintola on Monday, 3rd January, 2022.
MURIC said:
“The rift between
the Minister of Internal Affairs, Rauf Aregbesola and the Governor of Osun
State, Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola has been in the public arena for more than two
years now. All efforts made by stakeholders, including Muslim leaders, to
settle the feud have proved abortive.
“We have decided to wade into the
squabble because Muslims in the South West will be the worst hit if the rift is
allowed to continue ad infinitum. Already, it has become a major embarrassment
to Muslim leaders in the sub-region. Muslim youths are also entertaining fears
over the ugly development. Apart from this, MURIC’s office has been inundated
with calls for our intervention. MURIC’s staunch belief in dialogue and its
commitment to it over the years is also another cassu belli of our
intervention.
“To cap the
edifice, the Muslim Rights Concern is deeply concerned because Allah gave
specific instruction to Muslims regarding this type of development. This
instruction is in the Glorious Qur’an 49:10. The verse describes Muslims as ‘brothers’
(innama al-mu’minuun ikhwatun) and commands members of the Ummah to
intervene in disputes for the purpose of reconciling two feuding Muslim
brothers (faslihuu bayna akhwaykunm).
“We appreciate
the intervention of Muslim leaders in this dispute. But it is because those
efforts are yet to yield the desired result while the rift has already been
blown open that MURIC has opted for this intervention. More often than not,
parties in disputes tend to forget that their rancours bring sadness and agony
to those who love them in particular and other stakeholders in general.
“The question is what is at stake and we
affirm that a lot is at stake because when two elephants fight, it is the grass
that suffers. The ongoing face-off is likely to affect the fortunes of both
Aregbesola and Oyetola in the coming gubernatorial election in Osun State this
year although they may not acknowledge this fact now as both gladiators are
still grandstanding.
“It is also likely to ricochet on the
rumoured presidential ambition of their principal, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. A
divided camp cannot fight on one front. Neither can it speak with one voice. For
the past two years, MURIC has been calling for a Yoruba Muslim as the next
president of this country and we still stand by this. But as it stands today,
this bitter quarrel between the two most prominent Muslim politicians is likely
to scuttle our aspiration.
“This is why we
cannot continue to fold our arms to watch by the ringside while the two
combatants slug it out. We must find a way to de-escalate tension. If the
combatants will not listen to Muslim leaders who have allegedly pleaded with
them in private, we have a duty as a Muslim rights group to task both of them
in public. This is a case that is already known to every Dick and Harry anyway
and people are wandering why the Muslims have not been able to douse the
tension.
“We hereby call the attention of the
Minister of Internal Affairs, Rauf Aregbesola and the Governor of the State of
Osun, Isiaka Oyetola, to the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in which he said,
‘Two Muslims should not engage in a quarrel beyond three days. The one who
first extends greetings to the other is the better Muslim.’
“It is our desire
to leverage on the above hadith by asking both of them who is the better
Muslim? Aregbesola or Oyetola, to be or not to be? That is the question. Who has deeper Imaan (faith) between
the two? Who will listen to the hadith first? Who will take his handset and say
‘Salaam Alaykunm’ to his Muslim brother first and follow it up with a
visit? Who will be the first to simmer down? Who will be the first to tell his
loyalists to stop the intrigue? Who will show the world that the bond of Islam is
stronger than the camaraderie in a political party?
“Both politicians have seven days to
act. We have no apology for making this demand of them because Allah will ask
all of us what role we played in the lingering fracas, the smouldering scandal
and the shameful and embarrassing rigmarole. We want Aregbesola and Oyetola to
know that there are conscious Yoruba Muslims in leading Islamic organisations who
are monitoring this development and they are waiting to see how they will react
to this demand.
“They want to
know what Aregbesola or Oyetola consider as their major priority: Islam or
politics? As Muslims, are the two politicians aware of the eschatological
implications of being involved in politics?
“Are they aware
that a Muslim politician must not drop Islam behind while going into politics,
business or anything at all? Are they aware that this is the import of the
verse ‘Idkhuluu fil silmi kaafatan’ (i.e. enter into Islam
wholeheartedly, Glorious Qur’an 2:208)? Are they also aware that politics ends
in this world and that Allah will ask them how they played it yaom
al-Qiyamah (the Day of Ressurection)?
“While we have no
doubt that both politicians are good Muslims who have contributed immensely to
the development of their people in the past, we must bring to their attention the
hadith of the Prophet (SAW) in which he warned that ‘If two Muslims face each
other with their swords, then both of them are dwellers of hell fire’.
“Both Aregbesola and Oyetola deserve al-Jannah
because they are Muslims and because they have performed excellently well in
office. But they should not endanger their chances in al-Akhirah (the
Hereafter) with this bickering, based on the above hadith. We hold the two Muslim politicians in high
esteem and we will continue to do so as long as they comport themselves in a
manner befitting good Muslim politicians who have the fear of Allah in their
hearts. Well, the clock has started ticking. They have seven days to prove the
depth of their Imaan as well as their love and concern for the Ummah.”
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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